K-1 might not of held any shows yet this year, which has pushed many of the Japanese fighters who usually fight under the K-1 banner to fight in smaller promotions, such as KRUSH recently. One of those fighters has yet to look back since he finally reached the big stage of K-1 MAX glory, that fighter is Yuichiro "Jienotsu" Nagashima. Nagashima has entered into the world of professional wrestling, having his first bout in early May in Zero-One MAX against professional wrestler and former SHOOTO fighter Kohei Sato. They put on a match that many have heavily praised, saying that Nagashima looked natural in the ring, like he had been wrestling for years now. For a fighter like Nagashima, he is just a born performer, known for his flashy entrances and portraying an over-the-top character that received international attention when National Geographic featured Jienotsu in a documentary about "strange lifestyles."

He returned to the ring, once again in the Zero-One MAX ring with legendary Shinjiro Ohtani as an opponent, but this time around, in a tag team match. Nagashima's initial entry into Zero-One involved challenging Shin'ya Hashimoto's son, Daichi Hashimoto to a bout, only for Sato to take him on first. Nagashima was able to overcome the veteran Sato in his debut, and this time around he also got to face Daichi Hashimoto, who was teamed up with Ohtani. The kicker, of course, is that Nagashima's tag team partner in this bout is former K-1 fighter Akebono. Of course, Akebono did not see much success in MMA (0-4) or K-1 (1-8), but he has always been a big star that attracts attention to shows due to his former Sumo career. Him and Nagashima made for a good team that packed the house, with the K-1 team taking the win.